NT pro BNP as a potential marker of left atrial dysfunction in rheumatic mitral stenosis and its correlation with improvement in left atrial functions post percutaneous balloon mitral volvotomy (PBMV) with intermediate term follow up of 1 year

Primer pla de la façana d'un edifici del s. XVIII. Consta de quatre pisos. Els baixos, s'obren a través del pas amb embigat de fusta al carrer del Civader

Geo-spatial Technology for Landslide Hazard Zonation and Prediction

Similar to other geo hazards, landslides cannot be avoided in mountainous terrain. It is the most common natural hazard in the mountain regions and can result in enormous damage to both property and life every year. Better understanding of the hazard will help people to live in harmony with the pristine nature. Since India has 15% of its land area prone to landslides, preparation of landslide susceptibility zonation (LSZ) maps for these areas is of utmost importance. These susceptibility zonation maps will give the areas that are prone to landslides and the safe areas, which in-turn help the administrators for safer planning and future development activities. There are various methods for the preparation of LSZ maps such as based on Fuzzy logic, Artificial Neural Network, Discriminant Analysis, Direct Mapping, Regression Analysis, Neuro-Fuzzy approach and other techniques. These different approaches apply different rating system and the weights, which are area and factors dependent. Therefore, these weights and ratings play a vital role in the preparation of susceptibility maps using any of the approach. However, one technique that gives very high accuracy in certain might not be applicable to other parts of the world due to change in various factors, weights and ratings. Hence, only one method cannot be suggested to be applied in any other terrain. Therefore, an understanding of these approaches, factors and weights needs to be enhanced so that their execution in Geographic Information System (GIS) environment could give better results and yield actual ground like scenarios for landslide susceptibility mapping. Hence, the available and applicable approaches are discussed in this chapter along with detailed account of the literature survey in the areas of LSZ mapping. Also a case study of Garhwal area where Support Vector Machine (SVM) technique is used for preparing LSZ is also given. These LSZ maps will also be an important input for preparing the risk assessment of LSZ

Hybrid Taguchi-GRA-CRITIC Optimization Method for Multi-Response Optimization of Micro-EDM Drilling Process Parameters

In this study, an attempt is made to investigate how the operational parameters such as capacitance, voltage, feed rate, and rotating speed affect the material removal rate, tool wear, overcut, and taper angle for micro-EDM drilling of aluminium 6061 utilizing brass C360 electrode. A novel Taguchi-GRA-CRITIC hybrid optimization methodology is used to obtain the optimal combination of micro-EDM drilling process parameters. The experiment was designed using the Taguchi L18 orthogonal array, and responses were recorded for each experiment. Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) is applied to improve the multi-response of the planned experiment. The weighting values corresponding to various responses are determined using CRITIC (criterion importance through intercriteria correlation) analysis. The hybrid methodology determines the best combination of process parameters for different responses. ANOVA was used to discover the most critical parameters. Finally, confirmation experiments were conducted with optimal parameters to identify improvement in grey relational grade over the initial parameters. The study\u27s findings indicate that, compared to the initial process parameter setting, the grey relational grade (GRG) increased by 92.36% with the optimal parameter setting

Platelet aggregation, mean platelet volume and plasma fibrinogen as risk factors for acute myocardial infarction

Background: The Aim of this study was to assess the role of platelet aggregation, mean platelet volume (MPV) and plasma fibrinogen levels in the pathogenesis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Methods: A prospective case control study was conducted on 30 cases of AMI and 30 normal healthy age and sex matched controls. The cases and controls were investigated for platelet aggregation studies (done in platelet rich plasma (PRP) using light transmission chrono-log optical aggregometer), MPV (measured by automated cell counter) and plasma fibrinogen levels (estimated by Clauss method).Results: The mean platelet aggregation (%) in cases AMI was 57.61±11.91 which was significantly higher compared with 35.00±10.40 for healthy controls (p<0.001). Using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis, most patients of AMI had a platelet aggregability of ≥49% on optical aggregometry (sensitivity = 83.3 % and specificity = 93.7%). The MPV (fL) in cases of AMI was 8.04±0.39 which was significantly larger when compared with 7.67±0.43 for controls (p= 0.001). The mean plasma fibrinogen concentration in cases of AMI was 383.1±48.3mg/dl which was significantly higher when compared with 271.33±57.7mg/dl for healthy controls (p<0.001).Conclusions: Platelet hyperaggregability, elevated MPV and plasma fibrinogen levels are found in patients with AMI and contribute significantly to risk of developing coronary thrombosis. These variables should be considered as additional screening tools to identify individuals at increased risk of developing AMI

The COVID‐19 Pandemic Not Only Poses Challenges, but Also Opens Opportunities for Sustainable Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted social, economic, and environmental systems worldwide, slowing down and reversing the progress made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs belong to the 2030 Agenda to transform our world by tackling humankind's challenges to ensure well-being, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. We explore the potential impacts of the pandemic on SDGs for Nepal. We followed a knowledge co-creation process with experts from various professional backgrounds, involving five steps: online survey, online workshop, assessment of expert's opinions, review and validation, and revision and synthesis. The pandemic has negatively impacted most SDGs in the short term. Particularly, the targets of SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 have and will continue to have weakly to moderately restricting impacts. However, a few targets of SDG 2, 3, 6, and 11 could also have weakly promoting impacts. The negative impacts have resulted from impeding factors linked to the pandemic. Many of the negative impacts may subside in the medium and long terms. The key five impeding factors are lockdowns, underemployment and unemployment, closure of institutions and facilities, diluted focus and funds for non-COVID-19-related issues, and anticipated reduction in support from development partners. The pandemic has also opened a window of opportunity for sustainable transformation, which is short-lived and narrow. These opportunities are lessons learned for planning and action, socio-economic recovery plan, use of information and communication technologies and the digital economy, reverse migration and “brain gain,” and local governments' exercising authorities